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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
42,932 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2013 Ford Explorer electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 7)

problem #128

Feb 132024

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Both the rear door lock actuators on my 2013 Ford Explorer broke within a month of each other. I am aware of actuator recalls on different Ford vehicles and I believe these broke for the same reasons as the other Ford actuators were recalled.

- Brentwood, CA, USA

problem #127

Oct 222023

Explorer

  • miles
Started car with auto start. Drove approx 5 miles. Pulled up to gas station shut car off, no issues. Pumped gas started vehicle and all these warning lights came on. Service power steering, and so on. Vehicle wheel is locked in place. Called tow truck.

- Cheswick, PA, USA

problem #126

Oct 112023

Explorer

  • 120,500 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the power steering became inoperable. The contact stated she was able to safely drive the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The contact turned off the vehicle and waited for several minutes before restarting the vehicle and driving to the residence. The vehicle was parked at the residence and failed to restart for four days. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 120,500.

- Tabor City, NC, USA

problem #125

Aug 282023

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Power steering assist popped up on dashboard with no warning. The safety of me and my children were put at jeopardy because what if we were driving on road and the steering wheel locked up on us?

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #124

Oct 042023

Explorer

  • miles
Unknown what caused the issue but our vehicle erupted into flames in our driveway not 10 minutes after we pulled in. No warnings, no indication anything was wrong. We smelled smoke and went outside to find the hood completely engulfed. It took fire department to extinguish it. They-??re not certain of cause yet but said likely an electrical short

- Parma, OH, USA

problem #123

Sep 282023

Explorer

  • miles
1. Power Steering fault randomly causing total loss of power steering. Have to turn the car off and restart to fix. No error codes are stored when this happens. No DTC's. This also causes a system terrain fault but again no error codes are stored for this either. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. 2. This has happened while driving in the mountains, on the highway and through residential areas making the car very hard to control or causing us to have to pull over in dangerous situations to restart the car to correct. 3. Whenever we take it for diagnosis they cannot duplicate the issue nor see the error codes in the history. Thankfully we have not yet been in an accident where we have needed the police to be involved although this has happened many times since we have owned the vehicle (5 years). 4. We have been told to drive it to a dealership while the error is occurring so they can see it live time however we have not yet been in a position to do this where it wouldn't have caused a safety issue to us or those around us. 5. There is no warning or alert that happens prior to the fault occurring.

- Perrysburg, OH, USA

problem #122

Sep 012020

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The rear camera intermittently goes black and there is nothing on the screen except an error warning. We have experienced this problem for a couple years however it is becoming more frequent.

- Longwood, FL, USA

problem #121

Aug 082023

Explorer

  • miles
The whole Front control interface module has gone out along with some functions of the APM. Just stopped all of a sudden. Turned key on and nothing worked. The airbag light has come on saying solid color. The rear tailgate will not open with the electronic power buttons. This all went out at one time. Is confirmed to be the FCIM and AMP. Is a safety hazard due to airbags, not known if will work and the inability to open rear tailgate. Other failures are climate control. Is stuck on high heat defrost in middle of Wisconsin summer, but not a real safety issue but very inconvenient.

- Whitehall, WI, USA

problem #120

May 012023

Explorer

  • miles
The back up camera image is reversed. What is on the left appears to be on the right and vice versa. The back up lines have also disappeared. Occasionally, it works properly, but most of the time it doesn't.

- Sandy Springs, GA, USA

problem #119

Feb 092023

Explorer

  • miles
The camera system should have been apart of the recall. None of the electronics work in the console area. The backup camera goes black often and stops working.

- Hempstead, TX, USA

problem #118

Feb 162023

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My power steering assist fault came on while driving my steering wheel became very hard to turn which caused me to almost crash I had swerve and stop me and my 3 year old were almost killed my truck electrical system is malfunctioning on its on and ford will not look into it I-??ve read up on all the recalls ford has had for the power steering assist fault and it-??s scary that it happened to me while driving I-??m extremely terrified to drive after having that happen to

- Ozark, AL, USA

problem #117

Oct 102022

Explorer

  • miles
at any speed the Explorer would go into "limp Mode"....NO THROTTLE...Terrian Management Error would appear and the wrench sign, ,,,,dash lights and terrain knob light would go off....at highway speeds, with no warning, this could be a deadly situation.....taken to our local Ford dealership.....they had no idea what happened....COULD DO NOTHING...after some research we decided to have them replace the THROTTLE BODY, at our "out of pocket" expense.....driven the car three times with no problems.....but after the first time it happened, to my wife, we went like 2 months without a problem...then it happened again...three more times before we took it in......YouTube is full of folks having the same problem....Explorers and F-150 trucks......you can stop and turn the car off...wait about 20 secs and restart...everything was back to normal...TIL THE NEXT TIME.....my Wife refuses to drive the car again til it is FIXED.....I drive it twice a week only....2013 Ford Explorer LTD....V6

- Greensboro, NC, USA

problem #116

Dec 122022

Explorer

  • miles
Reverse Parking Camera goes blank when backing up intermitently or does not work unless you shut the vehicle down multiple times

- Pinckney, MI, USA

problem #115

Dec 302022

Explorer

  • miles
The sunroof motor burned out due to water intrusion from clogged drains. Water also pooled in the passenger side floorboard and soaked the carpet from faulty drains. Cracks in the manufacturer's seam sealer at welds cracked at the back tailgate and leaked all down into the carpet and floorboard below the cargo area. This is a huge issue for those of us to are extremely sensitive to mold and mildew. It can also cause severe corrosion to other components of the car. I have reported it to the company and the dealer and they say that it is not their issue. In fact, they accused me of trying to weld or caulk the cracks. The vehicle has been inspected by Ford mechanics. There were no warnings of any kind. I discovered the burnt sunroof motor due to the sunroof not closing. Had to scramble to find someone to remedy the problem. I've investigated these issues and there are several customers with these exact same problems on Ford vehicles from 2011 - 2019. There should be several recalls concerning these issues.

- Campbell, CA, USA

problem #114

Oct 102022

Explorer

  • miles
Every now and then, the "Power Steering Assist Fault" light would come one, usually once I parked or when I first started the car. When I would turn off the car and restart, the light would no longer be on and there were no power steering problems. This went on for a month or two. It seemed like it was just a faulty warning light. Then one day while at my daughters school, thankfully, I was parked, my "Power Steering Assist Fault" light came on and power steering no longer works. The car is extremely difficult to turn and is not safe to drive.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #113

Oct 242022

Explorer

  • miles
This vehicle has had recurring instances of failed power steering. It will happen at low speeds where the power steering malfunctions and does not work until the car is shut off and turned back on. This can be especially dangerous when driving near other people or cars when we experience loss of control. Thankfully no collisions have occurred yet but it-€™s is an issue that has been recurring. There was a recall set out for electrical power steering failure - #14V286000. Unfortunately this recall only affects 2011-2013 FORD Explorers up until Feb 28, 2012 while this one was made Mar 7, 2012 (just a week outside of the recall). This was frustrating because the vehicle is experiencing every symptom that the recall #14V286000 states it fixes.

- Waco, TX, USA

problem #112

Sep 152022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
As stated in the 2 of the articles in this year make and model range 2013-2018 Ford explorer. The car has been up to date with maintenance, after a couple thousand miles after the oil changed was. I then took the car to a mechanic shop and was told the water pump and thermostat were failing. I stopped driving the car and decided to take it to a ford dealer. After visiting Palmetto Ford in Miami. I was told the car did not have an open recall for this vin and they did not cover it. It is evident that the problem has been present in many ford explorers in this year and has been a safety concern since the car overheats while on the road. I will need to have a recall placed on my vin number so that i can take this to a ford dealer and get it resolved asap so that i can get back to my normal living as I do not have a transportation and happen to be losing time from work and spending money in rides. My vin number is provided in this report Vin: [XXX] 2013 Ford Explorer Limited Recall 16v925000 (engine and engine cooling) https://www.bing.com/search?q=2013+ford+explorer+water+pump+recall&cvid=744c57e549d049c2bbcd35d89655cedd&aqs=edge.0.0l3.8405j0j1&pglt=41&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=U531 https://#:~:text=The%20contact%20reference%20manufacturer%20recall%20number%3A%2016s46%20campaign, not%20assist.%20The%20failure%20mileage%20was%20approximately%2065%2C000. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Pinecrest, FL, USA

problem #111

Sep 092022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
[XXX] 13 recalls listed two of which are the electronic power steering and traction control. I bought this vehicle and less than five days later the power steering goes out. So I'm going to loose my job and I could have lost my life yet Ford is denying there are any recalls and refusing to fix them. I am also a veteran and this is the last bit of bad news I can bare. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fayetteville , GA, USA

problem #110

Sep 092022

Explorer

  • miles
Power steering control module causing power steering to stop and loss of control to car. I took to auto shop and had codes reset and happened again with in an hour.

- Mecosta, MI, USA

problem #109

Aug 012022

Explorer

  • miles
The check charging system light came on and the power steering locked up, once it locks it stays mostly down. I was going around a curb at about 55mph when this happened with my two children. If that is not a safety issue I do not know what is. I could have wrecked and we could have been seriously injured or worse. Now my check brake system light is also on, check engine light, and it has a leak in the driver's side third row seatbelt. Now I know that it's said to have the battery and alternator tested and that has been done. I feel like I wasted a lot of money that I honestly did not have to buy a decent vehicle for me and my kids. This part is not under recall for my vehicle, however I have done my research and there are numerous recalls, investigations, and complaints. I need this issue fixed.

- Vienna, GA, USA

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